Disclaimer
I almost became anonymous.
I used to have a blog but deleted it hours before my hard drive went, taking everything I’d ever written with it. Jesus saves, I know.
Although the opportunity to start from scratch is really always there having to is much more motivating. My intent here was to write the subjective version of the news I report objectively for a community weekly. The American Journalism Review article on reporters’ blogs changed that. It seems as if reporters representing the entire professional spectrum have been fired for blogging about their stories.
Apparently subjective news writing can tarnish a paper’s reputation and, First Amendment rights or not, is a bad idea. Reporters are then left with several alternatives — posting anonymously, which is cowardly; posting under their own names, which ranges from irresponsible to dangerous; or posting things that have no direct correlation to their jobs.
The third way isn’t the bravest but standing behind what you write is as critical as objectivity. Even if what you write is, objectively, blather.
Stalk me
